Strengthening facial muscles for dysarthria

• Facial strengthening exercises, such as lip and cheek puffing, exaggerated facial movements, and resistance training, help regain muscle control and improve speech and expression.
• Other exercises like blowing bubbles, humming, and tongue presses improve articulation and breath control.
• Mirror exercises also boost awareness and symmetry.

Articulating lip and tongue for apraxia

Language problems arise from disrupted brain-facial muscle communication, making speech difficult.
Therapists use articulation exercises to improve speech coordination. These exercises, conducted by a speech therapist in the native language, focus on lip and tongue movements.

• Lip articulation exercises involve practicing sounds like “ooo” and “eee” while watching in a mirror.
• Tongue articulation exercises focus on improving tongue movement and consonant sounds (“t-d-n”).
• Both exercises aim to enhance coordination and speech production.

Singing songs for aphasia

Singing can repair the brain’s language network, which controls speech and language, and improve brain pathways, particularly in the left side of the brain responsible for speech. This leads to better speech production in patients.

To activate language centers:

• Try listening to vocal music,
• Hum along with simple songs (“Happy birthday”) or slow-paced songs (“We are the Champions”).
• Practice singing along with sentences, such as “What would you like for dinner?”.

Playing games for aphasia or anomia

Playing games can aid in aphasia recovery by providing an engaging environment for language skills practice.

• Games like Pictionary or Charades make word-finding fun.
• Scattergories strengthen memory and categorization.
• Taboo, on the other hand, challenges speaking and listening, encouraging creative descriptions while avoiding certain words, resembling a mind-puzzle.